Hessian Uniforms in the Years 1776 and 1786

The Landgraviate (from 1803 Electorate) of Hesse-Kassel was formed in 1567 through an inheritance division of the Landgraviate of Hesse. Of the four territories created in this context, Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Darmstadt remained over time. The lordship of Hanau (Hanau-Münzenberg part) fell to Hesse-Kassel after the extinction of the Counts of Hanau.

Around 1580, approximately 250,000 people lived in the entire landgraviate.

The military of Hesse-Kassel had a varied history.

Already around 1600, the establishment of a so-called “Landesausschuss” laid the foundation for a domestic force. It was a militia army. This initially comprised four infantry regiments with a total of about 4–5,000 men.

In 1608 there were said to be 7,150 men in the landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel – without cavalry – and in 1620 8,500 territorial troops and additionally 2,000 mercenaries.

In 1631 the army numbered 10,000 foot soldiers and 2,500 horsemen.

By the end of the Thirty Years’ War there were already 13,000 foot soldiers in about 160 companies and 3,000 horsemen in about 75 companies.

After 1648 the military was, however, greatly reduced.

In 1676 there is a report of the establishment of a standing regiment with 8 companies.

Around this time Hessian soldiers served as auxiliary troops in Hungary and in Denmark.

This is a feature of Hessian military history, for subsequently the Hessians repeatedly fought in the wars of other potentates, e.g. against Louis XIV, as in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), or against the Turks in Hungary (1717–21).

The hiring out of Hessian troops was regularly the reason for an increase in the army’s strength or the reformation of relevant units.

Hessian troops also took part in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–38), namely 5 infantry regiments (No. 2, 3, 4, 7 and 9) each of a strength of 800 men.

Two of those regiments were originally considered an Imperial contingent.

In the 1740s the Hessians again fought on various fronts, for example alongside British troops in suppressing the so-called Stuart uprising (the Jacobite Rising of 1745 = “The Forty-Five”).

In the Seven Years’ War initially 12,000 men (according to Mollo: 16,500 men) and ultimately 24,000 men (according to Mollo: 21,756 men) were deployed as subsidies against Prussia’s opponents and its allies (Great Britain, Hanover = Electoral Hanover, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel).

After the Peace of 1763 there was again a reduction in troop strength, but the remaining army was reorganized and modernized.

From 1776 the Hesse-Kassel military was then deployed in America, initially 12,000 and ultimately 17,000 (16,992) men. Fewer than two thirds of these returned home.

The basis for this was the alliance treaties with Great Britain on the occasion of the uprising of the American colonies against their mother country (see further below).

According to Korn, the Hessian contingent comprised 15 infantry regiments, 4 grenadier regiments as well as the Jäger corps with first 2, later 6 companies and the artillery corps with 3 companies. The units, however, actually had only battalion strength of 4–5 companies each. The aforementioned grenadier regiments were formed from the grenadier companies of the other infantry regiments.

In the early Napoleonic Wars the neutrality of Hesse-Kassel was not respected by France. The Elector (William I) had not joined the Confederation of the Rhine. He also did not enter into an alliance with Prussia. The consequence was the French occupation of the Electorate and the deposition of the Elector. Hesse-Kassel was eventually annexed to the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia (decree of 18 August 1807). The army had been placed on leave by the Elector as of 01.11.1806.

The infantry uniforms followed the Prussian pattern.

The grenadier caps also resembled the Prussian model. The cap plates were entirely made of metal.

The Life Regiment had received the latter in 1766 and wore them until 1775.

John Mollo describes the cap of the Hesse-Kassel grenadiers as follows: "Prussian-style grenadier caps consisted of a sturdy fabric shaped by three supports of baleen and covered with a comb-worsted material. The front plate, made from the same material as the buttons, was 25.4 cm high and 22.9 cm wide at the base. At the rear the cap was also metal in the lower part. The whole was crowned by a comb-worsted tassel in the regiment’s color. Grenadier officers wore hats instead of caps" (John Mollo / MacGregor, Uniforms of the American Revolutionary War, 1975, p. 172).

The musketeers wore the usual hat and the fusiliers corresponding caps in the Prussian fashion.

The base color of the uniform was blue with variously colored facings.

The blue coats had Brandenburg-style cuff facings.

The trousers were blue; from 1750 they took on the color of the waistcoat. Different colors for waistcoat and trousers, for example in Prussia, were not customary.

All ranks wore black gaiters.

Officers’ neckbands were white, the men’s were red.

Officers and non-commissioned officers had suede gloves.

The portepee was red-silver-red.

NCOs had white pom-poms (red inside) on their headgear and lace trim on the uniform.

In 1784 (1786) the grenadiers received bearskin caps modeled on the British example.

The equipment also included fur knapsacks and a linen bread bag.

According to Böhm, the origin of the Hessian Jäger goes back to the Thirty Years’ War. After the Seven Years’ War there were 4 companies on foot and 2 companies mounted.

This force was dissolved except for a small remainder.

For the deployment in North America the Jäger were again increased to 6 companies, including 1 mounted company.

The Jäger corps proved particularly effective in North America and very quickly adopted the American or Indian style of fighting. The unit, made up of Jäger and foresters, was especially feared by the enemy because of its marksmanship.

Regarding the use of the Hessian Jäger force in America John Mollo states: "In place of the regiment’s light infantry came the Jäger companies, sometimes also called 'chasseurs', although both terms meant the same. They were mounted or dismounted light troops recruited from Jäger, gamekeepers and foresters and armed with rifles. Since it had proved that they were particularly effective against the American marksmen, a demand for more Jäger was sent to London immediately after the Battle of Long Island. In a special contract of December 1776 the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel increased the quota of Jäger from 260 to 1,067, provided, however, that sufficient 'experienced Jäger and good marksmen' could be found" (John Mollo / MacGregor, Uniforms of the American Revolutionary War, 1975, p. 27). Their armament, however, was said to have been inferior to the American rifles.

The uniform was traditionally green, i.e. the coat, waistcoat and trousers had a green base color. Facings, lapels and collars were carmine red. The undergarments were originally red; after the deployment in America this color was reintroduced.

The black ankle boots were – according to Kannik – in America exchanged for brown leather gaiters. The mounted Jäger wore boots.

In 1786 a field Jäger corps was raised again, which ultimately comprised 4 companies.

Furthermore, various light infantry units were created subsequently, e.g. the Light Infantry Battalion Lenz, a fusilier battalion and a newly established Jäger battalion with 2 companies. The latter was incorporated into the field Jäger corps in 1798.

The Light Infantry Battalion Lenz received a green uniform modeled on the English example with a black shako as headgear. A white plume with a red base was worn on this.

In the period 1792–95 there were two depot battalions. These served personnel deployment and training purposes.

From 1794 (until 1806) there also existed so-called land regiments as successors to the garrison formations. These were intended to revive the idea of a people’s levy and activate territorial defense. Thus, among others, 27 battalions of the Landes-Ausschuss were created. Around 1798 the land regiments (according to Böhm) wore blue coats and facings with ponceau-red undergarments, a blue-white cordon, black hats, straw-colored undergarments and various undergarments (Böhme).

The army of Hesse-Kassel also included cavalry, namely the following units (1765):

Garde du Corps

Regiment Gensdarmes

Erbprinz’s Cavalry Regiment

Wolff’s Cavalry Regiment

Schlotheim’s Cavalry Regiment

Life Dragoon Regiment

Prince Friedrich’s Dragoon Regiment

Hussar Corps

The heavy cavalry wore white coats or collets.

In 1765 the two cavalry regiments Schlotheim and Erbprinz were combined and converted into a dragoon regiment.

The uniform of this formation consisted – as usual for dragoons – of light-blue coats. The aforementioned regiment had black facings and cuff facings.

In 1774 a carabinier corps was formed from the former members of the Erbprinz regiment.

The uniforming of the cavalry also closely resembled the Prussian model. However, English influence became noticeable through the deployment in North America. Thus the dragoons were equipped with English dragoon helmets.

For the period 1766 to 1773 Wolff’s cavalry regiment wore cuirasses.

The hussar corps had received light-blue pelisses and white dolmans with gold trim in 1763.

The Hesse-Kassel artillery had a very long tradition. Already by the end of the 17th century a distinction was made between field artillery and garrison artillery.

As with the other arms, the artillery numbers fluctuated. In 1776 two companies were created for the deployment in North America, but these were dissolved again after the troops’ return.

From 1785 the artillery of the County of Hanau was integrated.

In 1787 the corps of engineers was merged with the artillery.

There was then a regiment with 8 companies in 2 battalions, but this was restructured again in 1788.

In 1794 a separate heavy brigade of 2 companies was formed, which was soon afterwards dissolved or incorporated into the artillery regiment.

By 1806 there was thus an artillery regiment including a (newly created in 1796) mounted battery.

In this regiment – distributed across the companies – served, in addition to the engineers, also pontoniers and miners.

Hans Bleckwenn judges the quality of the troops of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel as follows: "In retrospect one may call the Scots, Austrian military frontiersmen and the infantry of Hesse-Kassel probably the best soldiers in Europe for the 18th century. Thus the Hessians were particularly sought after as auxiliary and mercenary troops and were militarily involved in almost every West and Central European entanglement, without Hesse-Kassel itself always appearing as a belligerent state. This practice worked in 1733/35 as well as in the War of the Austrian Succession 1741/48, but no longer in the Seven Years’ War, which also imposed the heaviest sacrifices on the country itself and its population. After that the Landgrave had lost his taste for such subsidy agreements; however, when the war in North America 1776/83 loomed, the Hessian estates turned to him with the recommendation to conclude the pay contract desired by England for a larger corps nonetheless. For the poor, partly inhospitable country had meanwhile seen its breadless sons go abroad for lack of ongoing contracts – and indeed they returned immediately, for example from the regiments in the Netherlands, when Hesse-Kassel again raised stronger own formations with England’s money. Furthermore the incoming funds were very welcome to the estates to ease the debt burden that since the plundering by the French in 1757/62 weighed too heavily. All this must be taken into account to be able to properly assess the subsidy system of this state" (Hans Bleckwenn, Riders, Hussars and Grenadiers. The Uniforms of the Imperial Army on the Rhine 1734. Dortmund 1989, p. 65).

John Mollo comments on the internal structures of the Hessian contingent in America as follows: "The two largest troop contingents, namely from Hesse-Kassel and Brunswick, were similar, if not in quality, then at least in outward appearance. The enlisted ranks of the Hesse-Kassel units, which made up the bulk of all German troops sent to America, were for the most part active soldiers, many of whom had served during the Seven Years’ War, although in the later years of that war forced recruitment and recruiting parties became necessary. The officers were uniformly professional soldiers and had already in part seen combat. A whole number of them were members of the lesser nobility and seem to have received a fairly good education, although their poor English proved to be an impediment in America.

The troops from Hesse-Kassel were the only ones deployed as a coherent unit with their own generals, and according to the contractual arrangements they were to be separated only in emergencies. Each infantry regiment consisted of two battalions, namely one of fusiliers and one of musketeers (a distinction that was merely nominal) as well as about 120 grenadiers distributed across both battalions. In accordance with the British practice of the time the grenadiers were grouped into two battalions" (John Mollo / Malcolm MacGregor, Uniforms of the American War of Independence, 1975, p. 27).

Böhm, Uwe Peter, Hessian Military. The Troops of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel 1672–1806, Beckum 1986.

Böhm, Uwe-Peter, A Grenadier Cap Plate from Hesse-Kassel from the Time of Landgrave Frederick II (1760–1785), in: Journal for Military Studies, 1986, pp. 29 ff.

Böhme, H. G., Military Organization in the 18th Century up to the Seven Years’ War, Kassel–Basel 1954.

Hildebrand, Erich, The Erbprinz Regiment of Hesse-Cassel in the American War of Independence, in: Journal of the Association for Hessian History and Regional Studies, 1984/85, pp. 183 ff.

Kannik, Preben. Uniforms in Color, Berlin 167, Nos. 82, 136 and 156.

Kapp, Friedrich, The Soldier Trade of German Princes to America, Berlin 1874.

Knötel, Richard; Sieg, Herbert, Handbook of Uniformology. Military Dress in Its Development up to the Present, reprint 1971, pp. 121 ff.

Korn, Hans-Enno, Flags and Standards of the Landgravial Hesse-Kassel Troops in the American War of Independence 1776–1783, offprint from the Journal for Hessian History 1976/77.

Lowell, Edward J., The Hessians and the Other German Auxiliaries in Great Britain’s War against America 1776–1783, Brunswick and Leipzig 1902.

Mollo, John / MacGregor, Malcolm. Uniforms of the American Revolutionary War, 1975.

Muhsfeldt, Th. Hesse-Kassel Uniforms, in: Communications on the History of Military Costume, 1895 (No. 1), pp. 1 ff.

Ortenburg, Georg, The Military of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel between 1783 and 1789, Potsdam 1999.

Preser, Carl, The Soldier Trade in Hesse, Marburg 1900.